ZXR - randomly swapping my 5.1 channels around

Hey guys

I installed my new Sound Blaster ZXR today, and have it connected to a Pioneer Amp with 5.1 Paradigm Cineman monitor speakers via SP/DIF. I'm running it in DTS Connect mode, and will probably switch to analogue cables soon to get the best audio quality.

However, in the meantime I'm sticking with SP/DIF and DTS connect - note that my amplifier is 100% DTS compatible. I've had some really, really strange problems with the ZXR - at first the speaker test works fine, and each of my 5.1 channels is assigned correctly. After about 30 minutes of gameplay, it then swaps all the channels around - the front left test signal comes from my left rear, the front center comes from my right rear, etc, etc - it's all over the place, totally destroying surround sound. At the same time, the audio signal gets really distorted and fuzzy. The only fix is a reboot. I've tried setting everything to default values, as well as updating to the March 3 drivers and rolling back to the driver disk. The same problem seems to happen when I'm running in headphone mode, with ingame sounds that should be coming from the left now coming from the right.

Any ideas? I'm at a loss - it all appears to be setup perfectly, and this is not my first soundcard. It's my fifth actually, and I've never seen anything like this before. Any advice you can give will be most appreciated.

Re: ZXR - randomly swapping my 5.1 channels around

Hello, can anybody help? This is a truly bizarre issue. I've also tried changing the "Default Format" down to 2 channel, 24 bit, 48KHz, as well as a bunch of other formats - the channel swapping issue still exists. I think the ASUS Phoebus had similar problems, and we all know what happened with that card

Re: ZXR - randomly swapping my 5.1 channels around

I have exactly the same Problem with my Soundblaster Z and I am in contact with the support for weeks. Like this I can't play seriously my games. I hope you try to fix this error because if not, I have to switch to another Soundcard from a different brand!

Re: ZXR - randomly swapping my 5.1 channels around

Hey this is like my problem
Everytime i restart my pc 1 different each time speaker will sound louder than the others.Rear left might go front right.
Gunslinger does your DTS Neo:PC works? I mean when you move the slider do you hear any difference?

Re: ZXR - randomly swapping my 5.1 channels around

Re: ZXR - randomly swapping my 5.1 channels around

Hey guys

Creative suggested I swap my ZXR to a different PCIe slot - I'd originally mounted it in a x16 slot, and they said it might work better if I use a x1 slot. Unfortunately, after swapping to the x1 slot, the daughterboard was no longer detected by Windows, and the ZXR wasn't detected by the SBX software. Note that I also had the same problem when running headphones. I also tried swapping a ZX into my PC in place of the ZXR (I have all three Z-series here, as I'm testing them for an article) and the problem remained.

Can I ask you guys to post:
a) The motherboard type you're running? Mine was Gigabyte G1 Sniper.
b) What kind of PCIe slot it's in - x1, x4, x8 or x16? I was in x16 then x1, no diff in either.
c) The sound card output you're using - SP/DIF? Multi-channel? etc, etc I tried SP/DIF, as my gaming PC is in my home theatre and I have a high-end 5.2 sound system.
d) do you have lots of PCIe/PCI devices? I'm running dual graphics cards in SLI, plus a PCIe SSD, on a Gigabyte G1 Sniper, and Creative thought it might also be related to the motherboard or the fact I'm using so many PCIe devices.

As a journalist reviewing these products for a PC magazine I was able to speak to several Creative staff higher up the food chain than your usual support people, and they became well aware of the issue. As a result they have started to look for a fix. The Z-series is a big deal for the company, so I'm confident that they'll figure it out. As soon as I hear anything I'll let you know.